Sherman wrote The Loudest Voice in the Room in 2014 on FOX News President Roger Ailes. Today he told Malzberg that Megyn Kelly wants to go mainstream and is keeping her options open.

From the interview:

Gabriel Sherman:In the days after the debate all of the emails and messages that FOX News was getting from their viewers were pro-Trump emails. Roger Ailes and his executives at FOX were shocked at the volume of the response. And, they really didn’t know what to do because their audience loves Trump. And yet FOX be all measures really hammered him. So they were sort of treating him with kid gloves until this interview when he came forward and questioned her vacation. That’s when they released a statement and compared him to conspiracy theories… Roger Ailes has never really faced an adversary like Donald Trump. Donald Trump doesn’t play by his rules so Ailes does not know what to do. This week he decided to come out and hit him…

Steve Malzberg: You also talk about in this piece the conspiracy theories that this is all setting up down the road the big Megyn Kelly – Donald Trump sit-down. And this is somehow being, if not coordinated, discussed by Ailes and Trump… Why is Megyn Kelly not firing back at this point?

Gabriel Sherman: Well, she, up until this point, was the fastest rising star at FOX News. She was really becoming the face of the network. And, I don’t think she wants to get down in the weeds and the gutter and play this kind of hardball politics.

Steve Malzberg: Because she’ll lose.

Gabriel Sherman: Or, she wants to, part of this is she wants to go mainstream.There was some talk before her most recent contract that she was flirting with CNN to kind of jump from FOX to CNN. And, I think she wants to leave all options on the table. If she gets down in the weeds and slugs it out with Trump that will hurt her brand.

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